Let's get this straight. The thing that tackled Sydnee looked like a huge grizzly bear.

Even as Sydnee had run up that hill, completely oblivious to the way that Elyse's eyes had widened at some new scent that she had picked up from her wolf, I had reached out for her. Of course, she just kept going. Shaking my head, I paused long enough to pick up a stone from the ground to keep my mouth in check and instantly began tossing it between my hands. The habit was always present with me; I always did need something to do with my hands. "Gosh, I really hope that whatever you smell, it isn't anything that will hurt her, ya know?" I told Elyse as Sydnee raced up the rest of the hill.

"Definitely," Elyse agreed with me, pulling her sleeves down further on her arms with a frown. "Anything hurts her, I'll kill them."

"I don't doubt it," I said with a smile, turning just in time to see the man that looked like a grizzly bear running at her. When he tackled her, like a professional I must add with his spear or whatever, I gathered my skirts and began running up, mumbling curse words under my breath.

Cracking sounds echoed besides me and Elyse's white wolf bounded up the hillside. She made it look easy; every stride that her wolf took ate the distance between her and Sydnee as she struggled underneath the grizzly bear-looking man that was holding her down. Her ears had pinned flat against her head, her lips pulled back to reveal her sharp canines as her white fur bristled up menacingly. The grizzly man didn't notice her either until she was just a few feet away. His spear that he had up in the air slipped from his fingers as his mouth made an 'O' and he hardly made a noise as Elyse slammed into him shoulder first. A scream and a bark later, all I saw was a white tail above the hill.

I stumbled a little, falling slightly forward, and realized that I still had the rock in my hands. Another man, this one with a strange bowl cut with red hair and a rectangular shaped face, was standing back, a slingshot loaded and pulled all the way back to his shoulder. Without thinking twice, I did a hop-skip and chucked the rock sidearm at him. I had done softball for about two years; the rock flew straight and true to my target, which was right on the side of the man's head. He yelped as it connected, whipping around for his eyes to widen as I picked up another one and threw yet another. This one he ducked, his hood flying up over his head he fell so quickly. As I slowed down to grab yet another rock, the man turned and shot a rock at me, which popped off my shoulder and my arm whipped up to catch it before it fell. If that didn't show how used I was to being hit by objects, then I don't know what does.

Elyse and the grizzly man rolled back over the top and onto the side where the man and I were now having a rock fight. With a roar she batted him away and into me, causing me to stumble backwards and yelp as a pebble struck me across the back of the head. Sydnee was pulling her arm away from the funny looking man that I had seen earlier talking to Gandalf; his face was friendly and he was attempting to be nice to her. I screamed as the grizzly guy simply wrapped me up in his arms, lifting me right off the ground and trapping me in his strong arms. His arms tightened as I began to struggle, choking me slightly.

Let. Her. Go! The words roared through my head ferociously as my eyes closed and I gasped desperately for air. The grip around my neck loosened and a large white wolf appeared in my vision. She was bristling, her white fur standing on end as she slowly stalked toward us. She easily towered above me as a wolf and the fur along her spine, raised up like a fluffy teddy bear almost, made her look three times her real size. Let her go, or I will kill you.

It was a heavy threat and the grizzly man didn't take it lightly. I whimpered slightly as I felt the cold side of a blade being pressed against my throat, causing me to lean back away from it as I fought to stay calm. Oh. Crap. He's going to kill me, I thought to myself. Great.

However, the killing blow did not come.

"Master Bifur!" shouted out Gandalf, slamming down his staff angrily. "Release her this second!"

Bifur, the dwarf that was apparently holding me, dropped me like I was something disgusting. I landed on my knees and refused to stand, leaning forward until I was resting my head upon my arms and took the moment to catch my breath. Elyse had yet to stop growling and, when I finally looked up, Gandalf had moved beside her. There was a slightly frustrated look on his face and he popped her lightly across the side of the head without any signs of being scared that he might lose his hand. She glanced at him, clearly surprised, and he hit her once again, this time in the shoulder. A blinding flash caused me to turn away and Elyse was sitting upon the ground, shocked, when I turned back.

"My dears, and dwarves, I would like to at least introduce each of you before you all decide to kill each other, if you please," the wizard grumbled, returning once more to the one that I was somewhat familiar with. "So. Do I need to explain or introduce first?"

Silence drifted around and I took this time to see where everyone was. Sydnee must have fallen down sometime during when the funny looking dwarf had been trying to calm her because she was currently on the ground, eyes wide as she looked up at Gandalf in confusion. The funny looking dwarf had paused, apparently in the progress of helping Sydnee to her feet. The dwarf with the red hair was still on top of the hill, blinking down at us as he seem to think to himself. Bifur, the one that had grabbed me, had taken a few steps away from me, arms crossed and glaring at Gandalf as he switched between the wizard and Elyse. Elyse had yet to move from where Gandalf had changed her form. It appeared as if I was the only one who was alright with standing and I cringed when Bifur growled slightly behind me.

"I would say that introductions would be great, Gandalf," I muttered, shooting a glance at Bifur, who simply growled again. "I would like to know the names of the people who attacked us," I spoke a little louder with sarcasm in my voice.

A small smile grew across his face and he gestured to each dwarf in turn. "Bifur is the one behind you." I shot a glare at the dwarf that had an axe in his head, visibly turning up my nose and making a disgusted face and turning back before he could respond. "Bofur is this dwarf, one of Bifur's cousins," he pointed to the one with the funny hat, who gave me a toothy smile, making it hard for me to believe that he was related to the one behind me. "And the young one there is named Ori." When I turned to face him, he waved sheepishly and I couldn't help but to realize just how young he was. He was easily Elyse's age and she was the youngest out of the three of us.

"And now for these beautiful ladies," Gandalf said with a smile. He waved a hand at Elyse. "This is Elyse, a skin-changer."

"What?!" Ori bounced up, grabbing at his red hair as he looked so confused that it was actually hurting him. "But-but skin-changers are extinct! Gone! Azog the Defiler killed them all! It's proven!"

Bofur immediately snatched the dwarf, grabbing him and putting him in a headlock, Ori only flailing only more. "Sorry, lass," he apologized with a kind grin. "Sometimes he's too smart fer his own good."

"I don't mind at all." Gears were visibly spinning in Elyse's head and I but my lip, waiting for what she might say. "I want to know what he means."

Gandalf sighed. "I did want to wait to explain everything to you three a little longer, however, it appears that it would be better if I did now. Certain magic brought you here; what magic, I have a guess, but do not know for sure. Each one of you is special." His eyes locked upon Elyse. "Yes, skin-changers are dead and have been for a while now. You are a rare exception. You escaped the Orcs when they were capturing your kin for entertainment, earning the scars along you."

Elyse's eyes snapped up, wide and full of fright. I cringed as Sydnee began shaking where she was standing, both of us suddenly very nervous. No one knew about those scars but us. Her fingers grabbed at her sleeves and she pulled them down further.

"Sydnee is a siren, she-"

"Sirens are extinct-!" Ori started again before Bofur slapped his hand over the younger dwarf's mouth, smiling apologetically.

"As I was saying," Gandalf continued, clearly a little annoyed. "Sydnee is a siren." My friend looked up from staring at the ground and wringing out the side of her dress nervously, chewing on the side of her mouth. "When the other sirens were slowly dying centuries ago, a few managed to cling on. At this point, she is half siren, half dwarf.

"And Winifred." I found myself grinding my teeth, waiting impatiently for what he was going to say. All eyes were turned to me and I closed mine, taking a shaky breath and waiting for him. "You are Queen Winifred of the Ice Mountains, south of the Middle-Earth and currently the sole survivor to the throne." My eyes snapped open in surprise. Queen? "At birth, you were stolen from your parents and brought here to a life in solitude. Both your parents were killed in the same battle that Azog the Defiler lost his arm by Thorin Oakenshield. As the heir of Wersh the Frozen, you have full right to being Queen."

I fell down to my knees as Bofur spluttered, making both Bifur and Ori bow to acknowledge my position that they hadn't known before. Taking my head in my hands, I bent down until my forehead was brushing the ground, the tears falling quickly. "I am a Queen," I whispered softly.

"And not just any Queen either." Gandalf swung his staff about and the temperature declined rapidly. Instead of feeling cold, I felt nothing at all. "You have powers that other dwarves do not have. You can control ice."

Again my head snapped up and I stared at him. He gestured with his hand expectantly and, after staring for a few more minutes, I finally did as he was showing me to do. I lifted my hand up slowly until it was leveled with my face; light blue patterns that sparkled slightly now decorated my palm and moved further up my arm. I glanced back up at Gandalf, slightly petrified, and he motioned at the ground with his staff. Slowly I let my hand fall until I brushed a blade of grass.

And, to my absolute shock, it completely froze.